Twice Look Forward
by mayflowerbel
Summary: "Two different beings, a single soul torn violently in two, never to be reunited or separated again. It was an absurd situation." Kiri had never been particularly fond of humans. After being violently cleaved into two by them, his hatred only intensifies. Both his halves, furious and weary, agree to dissapear. But life goes on... and they cannot hide forever... Crossposted on ao3.
1. 'THE BLEEDING MIST' Arc: Part One

**Disclaimer for the entire fic: I don't own 'Hetalia' or 'Naruto' This is for fun only.**

* * *

_ARC __ONE: THE BLEEDING_ _MIST_

_Arc __Summary:_ _Insanity is best described as refusing to conform to society's expectations._ _Sanity can best be described as __a stubborn __refusal to admit when something is wrong._

_Chapter Summary: Kiri the Bloody Mist breaks into two._

* * *

**Chapter One: and then there were two**

They had changed much, over the years.

Kiri remembers well, how he and his siblings were before. Before chakra became widespread. Before ninja. Before the five of them _changed. _None of them ever talk about it. He understands though. The transition was a sudden, painful one that left them _all _reeling. But they changed and they learned and soon enough, the hidden villages had become a greater part of their identity than ever intended.

It made for much confusion, among him and his siblings. Which names should they call themselves, if they had several? Their _true _names, their new names or the names they chose for themselves? Which were they first, human or nation? Or were they ever human in the first place? Eventually, he decided and he had stopped caring. He was Kiri first, Yugen second, personification always. Simple as that.

Kiri avoided his siblings as much as he could. Unlike them, he never bothered to introduce himself to his Daimyō, or his Kage. He never bothered much with humans at all. Their constant squabbles, their political games, their selfishness and hypocrisy. It disgusted him. (And it wasn't as if they could _make _him do anything. Kiri was all of their strength, combined.)

A personification could not be sealed and used like a bijuu. A personification could manifest anywhere inside their land's borders. A personification was immortal, cells constantly regenerating. Yugen took shameless advantage of that. And he ran. From his siblings, from all 'responsibilities' and especially from the worthless mortal men and women that disgusted Kiri so.

Yugen and Kiri were never meant to be separate beings. They were two different aspects of the same person, two names for two different mindsets and moods, nothing more. At least, that was how it began. Day after day passed. Days turned into months. His siblings waged war after war on their humans demand. The young personification of the Land of Water and Mist, split more and more into two.

* * *

They lived alone, as isolated from human life as they could get. _(Kiri insisted_) Using their nation-powers, they shrouded their house in silence, shadow and mist. Keeping a constant cloaking on their house wasn't particularly difficult, it was within their borders after all. A national personification was affected by the state of their country, yes, but _they _could also affect things such as weather patterns. If a personification wanted themselves, their house or anyone with them to remain unseen it was a simple enough matter to cloak their presence.

That particular nation-power came in handy when Yugen first ran.

When it happened, 'he' had long become 'they'. Kiri, the personification and Yugen, his much more human counterpart. Not split personalities. Not any mental disorder, really. Two different beings, a single soul torn violently in two, never to be reunited or separated again. It was an absurd situation. Naturally, one which brought about a lot of tension between Kiri and Yugen. One day, it all came to a head.

That particular day started off normally enough. Rising typically early, Kiri performed his various morning rituals, before sitting down to tend to his hair. With a careful, practiced hand, Kiri brushed through his long, cobalt locks. His hair was his pride and joy. One of few things he agreed with his sisters on: kicking ass was so much more satisfying if you looked good doing it.

**Vain, aren't you. Arrogant too. No better than the humans, really.**

Kiri's hand stilled.

**Yes, yes it's me. ****The other half.**

'Yugen.'

**That's my name, don't wear it out.**

'... we should talk. Face to face.'

The personification put his hairbrush down on the dresser. Folding his hands in his lap, Kiri closed his eyes and allowed his conscious to fall deeper. When he opened his eyes, he was standing at the bottom of a crystal clear lake. Bright light shone, though with no source. There was no surface either: the water went on forever. A boy that mirrored his looks exactly stood in front of him. Slowly, achingly slowly, the boy turned around. Their eyes met.

'Welcome to our mindscape,' Yugen greeted in monotone.

Kiri nodded briefly in return.

'How did I - we - become Fractured?' he demanded

A personification's mind was sturdier than a human's. It was far more difficult to drive a nation personification to insanity. Nevertheless, it did happen. Among them, it was called Fracturing. Fracturing only happened when a personification was in truly desperate, stressful, circumstances, for a very long period of time. Which, to them, could be anything from a decade to a century. Depending on the severity of Fracture, the personification in question could potentially recover fully.

Kiri's sinking heart told him this was not one of those cases.

Yugen sighed, a mournful worry settling on his deceptively young face.

'To be honest, I don't know. We just... woke up like this, remember?'

Kiri did remember. In vivid detail. Most of all, the extreme confusion, terror and blinding agony. _(red, so much red...)_

Suppressing a wince, he began to reply:

'I can remember some things. Can you?'

Yugen nodded.

'Let's try to piece it all together...'

* * *

As it turned out, _neither_ of them had any idea what could have caused the Fracture. There were simply far too many holes in their memories. Kiri had some, Yugen had others. Together, they at least managed to weave a vague picture of what had happened to their original self. Kiri didn't like what he saw. Yugen didn't either.

It was then that a consensus was finally reached. Kiri retreated to their mindscape. And Yugen first ran.


	2. 'THE BLEEDING MIST' Arc: Part Two

**Warning: a gruesome scene ahead. If you dislike gore, or are squeamish, skip from the first bolded word to the other.**

* * *

_ARC __ONE: THE BLEEDING_ _MIST_

_Arc __Summary:_ _Insanity is best described as refusing to conform to society's expectations._ _Sanity can best be described as __a stubborn __refusal to admit when something is wrong._

* * *

**Chapter Two: once ****given**

Yugen was pretty sure he hated humans. Not _all_ of them, some were actually pretty decent. He was reasonable after all, unlike his other. No, the ones he hated were the arrogant _worms _who surrounded him. Surrounded _them._ Simpering fools, the lot of them. With their endless plots and their selfishness and their idiocy.

_Just a little while longer, _Yugen thought to himself. _Bear this for just a little longer. _

He was making his way through the village, enjoying the peace and quiet of night time. Kiri often enjoyed just walking through their lands, no shinobi speed or nation-power. Yugen had to admit, he enjoyed it as well. Walking gave one time to reflect. Seemingly lost in thought, Yugen ignored the eyes he could feel looking at him.

* * *

If a person looked at the tiny figure walkilng down the deserted road, they would immediately dismiss him as a twelve year old child. He was thin and small, long cobalt hair hanging loosely down his back. A purple scarf was wrapped around his neck. The child had a delicate frame and was beautiful to look at. All in all, he seemed like easy prey for the bandits haunting the deserted roads.

But before they could so much as blink, the child was right in front of them. Smiling serenely, utterly at ease.

'I do hope you weren't about to try anything,' he said.

The biggest and burliest bandit got over his shock and sneered.

'Listen here, kid-' he began, scowling.

The child sighed.

'Thought so.'

In an instant, the air around them _changed._ A stifling, heavy, immense chakra flooded the air. It was so vast, so potent, so massive, that it was as if a thousand people were standing in front of the bandits, instead of one child. The look on his face had changed. **With** a sneer, he lunged, grabbed two bandits by the throat and smashed their heads against the nearest wall.

With a sickening squelch and snap, their skulls caved in, brain matter and blood oozing out.

The other bandits paled and turned to run.

The not-child jumped at them, kicking two more hard enough to shatter all the bones in their bodies. Not even pausing as they crumpled, he leapt again, gathering chakra in his hand, then concentrated briefly. Soon enough, the condensed chakra had become a razor sharp, ominously bubbling, mass. He slashed his hand downwards in a chopping motion.

The remaining bandits _screamed _and fell, blood oozing out of torn flesh.

The last one standing, the biggest one, backed towards a wall, whimpering pathetically. The not-child strode calmly through the piles of bodies. He stopped near the last remaining bandit. A frigid expression on his face, he raised his hand.

'You humans-' he spat. '- are absolutely _disgusting.'_

With that he thrust his hand into the man's chest, gripped his heart and **_crushed._**

* * *

_Later, inside the mindscape_

Yugen sighed, staring wearily at Kiri. The other, glared, unrepentant. Yugen's lips thinned. It wasn't like he was all that fond of humans either, but his other's outright hate was irrational.

'Do you even remember _why _you hate humans so much?' he asked.

Kiri pursed his lips and looked away. Yugen continued staring intently at him.

'Nothing concrete yet, but I think the humans did something to us.' Kiri said after a while, relenting.

Yugen blinked.

'You think the Fracture...?'

The other blunet nodded, making a frustrated noise.

'I wish we could _remember._'

The holes in their memory were immensely frustrating. This lack of information was what was keeping Yugen in the village. Neither of them had any idea what actually _happened _to them. And it wasn't like they could just ask. Their original self had kept as far a distance from humans as he could.

Yugen hummed.

'Maybe you should henge and ask around. Something really big must have happened to Fracture us like this.'

Kiri choked and stared, eyes bulging. Yugen hid his smirk under his scarf. Messing with his other self was so _fun._

* * *

The original Kiri kept himself at a distance from everyone. He preferred his own company and only dealt with people at all out of simple necessity. That was the extent of his relationship with anyone. Including his siblings. _Especially _his siblings. Each of them looked out for themselves first, that was just who they _were._ The only person Kiri had trusted unconditionally, cared about beyond using them, was himself.

So when he Fractured, he kept that to himself as well. It was just, now there was _two _of him. Both were split fairly evenly down the middle, in terms of personality traits and power.

Kiri's memories, his powers, were tied heavily with the original's duties, his sense of responsibility as a national personification. As a ninja. Kiri was a shinobi, he knew stealth and combat and _blood _like the back of his hand. All the ugliest, most despicable sides of humanity were constantly on display for him.

Yugen was more human, more civilian. He didn't like combat in the slightest. He despised the smell of blood in the air. All _his_ memories were tied to those times the original had allowed himself to relax and _live. _Yugen did know how to use their ninja abilities and nation-powers, he just preferred not to. If at all possible.

As such, when ninja abilities were needed to gain information, such as using 'henge' to find out what the hell happened, it fell to Kiri. Much to his despair. But they were desperate, they were confused and they were alone. In the end, it wasn't even a choice.


	3. 'THE BLEEDING MIST' Arc: Part Three

_ARC __ONE: THE BLEEDING_ _MIST_

_Arc __Summary:_ _Insanity is best described as refusing to conform to society's expectations._ _Sanity can best be described as __a stubborn __refusal to admit when something is wrong._

* * *

**Chapter Three: twice taken**

It had been simple enough to henge into a fairly nondescript young woman and enter the marketplace. Nobody payed any attention to "her" as "she" pretended to browse the products and kept both ears open. The best way to get the honest truth out of people was, after all, to pretend you weren't listening.

(and that way he didn't have to interact with _humans_)

Most of the shoppers buzzed about _damages _and _prices _and _lives lost._

Kiri went ramrod straight abruptly at one particular remark and listened harder.

'-isn't that terrible? I'd never been more terrified in my life!'

'I can't believe the sealing _failed. _Has that ever happened before?'

'I didn't think it was even _possible, _to be honest. But I saw it with my own eyes!'

'Tell me again.'

'So I here was, helping prepare, and they drag some kid in. Said he'd struggled like a wild animal and they only managed to get him because they caught him by surprise and used some special technique on him. We were already desperate, but when they tried to seal the Sanbi in, the kid began _screaming._ Just screaming and crying and thrashing.'

Kiri whimpered as a memory hit him like a ton of bricks. Clutching his head, he melted out of the room and manifested in his house. Gasping and shaking like a leaf, he fell to his knees on the ground.

_(red, red, red, why is there so much red?)_

_("stop, please, you don't understand! YOU'LL KILL ME!")_

_(burningscreamingagonywhysithurtcantbreathecantbreathecantbreathe...)_

_(burning, flaming, liquid hellfire in his veins, searing-hot pain in every screaming, healing, dying cell, head self soul, splitting in two, bleeding, bleeding, bleeding, _red,_ sopainfulmakeitSTOPcantbreathecancantbreathe...)_

_(a kid with pink eyes and messy greyish hair, _yagura, his name's yagura, _is staring, a flash of long blue hair, a trembling, weak body, tear-streaked face,__ "you made it stop, you made it STOP... thank you, thank you, thank you...")_

**W-what the... actual..._hell..._**

The personification could feel his other's pain and bewilderment. It yanked him out of the onslaught of memories. He found himself kneeling, collapsed, on the ground, twig-like arms shaking and trembling, soft fibers of the carpet pressing red patterns on his skin. He takes a deep, shuddering breath.

_Let's talk._

**Y-yeah...**

Kiri wiped the tears off, sat up, then let his conscious fall back.

* * *

They sat cross legged opposite each other. Both their faces had turned corpse white, puffy and tear-streaked. The silence between the two of them was almost palpable. Kiri's lips pressed into a thin line. Yugen absently braided his hair into a thick rope and wrapped it around his hand, tightening and loosening by turn.

'What just happened?' Yugen asked finally, just to break the strangling silence.

'We found out what happened to Fracture us like this,' Kiri answered curtly.

Yugen shuddered from head to toe.

'I don't want stay here anymore!' he burst out. 'I can't, not after _this. _Kiri, _please, _I am _begging _you, let's _leave._'

Kiri sighed, kneading his forehead.

'I never said- ugh, nevermind that. Let's just... get out of here. As fast as we can. We can figure out more later, I just don't think I stay near humans anymore without killing every last one. And we _can't_, they're our citizens.'

Every national personification was as strong as _all _of their citizens put together. They were immortal, they healed from everything, they were a thousand times stronger and more durable than even the strongest shinobi. But their wellbeing was tied to the economy, natural disasters, things like that. When a bijuu or a jinchuuriki rampaged, a personification felt it, multiplied by every last one of their citizens.

The very _idea _that those idiotic humans tried to _seal a bijuu _in their original self made Kiri's blood boil. Grinding his teeth, he clenched his fists together and trembled with helpless rage.

A timid voice broke him out of his dark thoughts.

'Kiri... maybe we should thank him.' Yugen said, looking away and tightening the braid around his arm.

Kiri raised an eyebrow.

'Thank who?' he asked.

Yugen coughed, a little awkwardly.

'Yagura. I mean, he's become a _jinchuuriki _now. And he's what, twelve? It's not his fault humans are stupid sometimes, and he saved us, right?'

'Sure, if you want.'

Yugen perked up, staring hopefully.

'Really? We're going to thank him?' he asked.

'No, _you're _going to thank him.' Kiri corrected. ' _I_ will be staying in our mindscape.'

Yugen blinked in shock.

'Wait, don't tell me you're-'

'I'll be the strength,' Kiri interrupted hastily, a heavy blush staining his cheeks. 'You be the everything else.'

Yugen laughed brightly, the frightening paleness receding. The other blue haired boy couldn't help but smile.

* * *

There were still many holes and patches in their memory. Kiri and Yugen were still Fractured, still two separate people when they should be one whole. Bitter resentment was already welling within the two of them. Fury at what had almost happened, hatred of the human race. Many, many things were wrong, most of which neither could even begin to try to fix.

Something irreparable had broke that day. Maybe had been broken a long time now. Still, it happened and there was no going back. Yugen was going to run, Kiri was all for it. He was going to run and he was going to hide and he was not going to be coming back. Not this time.

But first... there was something he had to do. A certain child (actual child, at least back then) to thank.

* * *

_Little did any of them know, that meeting would change the course of history forever. But was that change for the better... or for the worse? Only time would tell._


	4. 'THE BLEEDING MIST' Arc: Part Four

_ARC __ONE: THE BLEEDING __MIST_

_Arc __Summary:_ _Insanity is best described as refusing to conform to society's expectations._ _Sanity can best be described as __a stubborn __refusal to admit when something is wrong._

_Chapter Summary:_

_Hopes, dreams, delusions, they're all the same to Kiri. No matter what pretty words anyone says, there will _always _be someone, somewhere, messing things up for everybody else._

_or:_

_Yugen discovers a genjutsu._

* * *

**Chapter Four:**** a sense of self**

Yugen didn't have much of an opinion about Kiri's siblings. Kiri would of course insist that they were _his_ siblings as well, except Yugen knew better. They might share the same body, but they weren't the same person. Not anymore, maybe not ever again. His other _knew _Konoha and Iwa and Kumo and Suna. He himself did not. Still, since they'd shared memories, he could at least watch what they were like.

What he saw wasn't particularly encouraging.

If Yugen were to be perfectly honest, he'd hoped, at first._ (you're naive, Konoha)_ Hoped that maybe, if there was even the slightest chance... that they could be reasoned with... maybe they would finally be at least a little like an actual family. Broken and damaged and harbouring resentment, sure, but a family. Humans could manage it after all. Sometimes.

_(a very curvaceous woman, hair flame-red, eyes dancing with mischief, a man, tall and broad shouldered and muscular, one pure red eye visible, face hidden behind bandages, a girl, slight and small and tired looking, sandy hair, ribs showing beneath loose clothing, a teen boy, lithe and graceful, gorgeous face impassive, cold, calculating violet eyes, frustration, anger, _"You don't get it! None of them can be trusted! HUMANS ARE SCUM!", _storming out, fuming, don't they _get it_?)_

When asked, Kiri would say he didn't want to talk about it. That he could go and look for himself, if he really wanted to. Yugen had done just that. Sat down, meditated, then began digging around in their head. After some extensive searching, there were enough memories to form a clear picture of what their original self's relationship with his siblings was.

_(hurt, anger, _leave me alone Nee-san, _i'm not like them, any of them, they're idiots, derision, disdain, a deep seated loathing, _you're all pathetic)

_(he was Kiri the human-hater, Kiri the psychopath, Kiri the Bloody Mist, and never mind that Konoha's hands were elbow-deep in human experimentation, that she was practically bathing in children's blood, never mind that Kumo's dirty tactics were known far and wide, never mind that they were all just as bad as each other.)_

He had been stupid to hope.

* * *

Yugen approached the newly minted jinchuuriki on the training grounds, making sure to tweak their surroundings to set a Notice-Me-Not cloak. It really was an awfully useful nation-power, controlling the lay of the land could be used in any number of ways.

**We shouldn't get too reliant on that, it only works so long as we're on our land.**

Yugen stifled an annoyed sigh.

_You're too paranoid. It's not like there's anybody that can actually hurt us around._

**And you're too arrogant, **his other shot back.

_I prefer to call it being optimistic._

**We're not invincible. The entire _reason _we're waiting for that Jinchuuriki in the first place is because we got careless and let those fucking humans capture us.**

His lips thinned. His hands clenched into tight fists.

_We didn't _let _those humans capture us, _he hissed mentally. _And I wasn't- ugh. __Whatever. It doesn't matter. _

**Yu...**

_I_ said, _whatever. Leave it._

Shoving his irritation firmly away, Yugen continued to wait, leaning against the wall. Yagura normally came to these training grounds, at this time, like clockwork. Unless his schedule had drastically changed since yesterday. Which he was sure it hadn't. Yugen's eyes flitted around nervously as he waited. He hoped it wouldn't take too long, they needed to be far away from the village by sunrise tomorrow. Luckily for him, after a few minutes of impatient waiting, a familiar figure entered the training grounds. Muscles relaxing slightly, the blunet stood straighter and took in his newest jinchuuriki with appraising eyes.

Short, messy grey hair falling over the right side of his face. Pink, pupil-less eyes. A stitch-like scar stretched from his left eye down his cheek. Normal enough, for a shinobi. But.. there was something _off _about him. To a human, even a ninja, it wouldn't have registered as anything odd. But Yugen wasn't human. _Kiri _wasn't human. There was a distinct feeling of another presence all about Yagura. One that had no business being there.

Eyes narrowed, Yugen continued to look.

_Why does something like this always have to happen? _

**Because humans can't ever be satisfied with what they've got and their capacity for deluding themselves is unparalleled.**

Yugen scoffed inwardly.

_You really can't stop yourself can you?_

**I have zero idea what you're talking about.**

_Of course you do._

Yugen leaned back, valiantly resisting the urge to bang his head against the nearest wall. He'd only wanted to thank Yagura before leaving. Was a drama-free departure really too much to ask for?

**Yugen.**

_Yes?_

**Why is the Three Tails Jinchuuriki under a genjutsu?**

_I have no idea._

**We have to do something about this. If one of our Jinchuuriki becomes a puppet controlled by a genjutsu, the others will never let me live it down.**

The blunet sighed wearily.

_Whatever mess it is, I'm not getting involved. Humans created it, they can sort it out. _After thinking briefly, he added: _I'll break Yagura free though._

* * *

_And with that one decision, the course of history was changed forever. Fly, little butterfly, fly. Let your wings cause ripples all across the world._


	5. Interlude One: Konoha's Jinchuuriki

_ARC __ONE: THE BLEEDING_ _MIST_

_Arc __Summary:_ _Insanity is best described as refusing to conform to society's expectations._ _Sanity can best be described as __a stubborn __refusal to admit when something is wrong._

* * *

_ARC __INTERLUDE: KONOHA'S LITTLE JINCHUURIKI_

_Interlude Summary: A jinchuuriki's burden is a heavy, unfair and dark one. Too much so for a little boy. There are orders, of course, but Konoha doesn't care what her apparently-senile Hokage, his definitely-senile friends OR the abusive bastards she needs to stay alive think. She's telling her little jinchuuriki the truth and she is not letting him stay alone anymore._

_or:_

_Konoha takes no bullshit excuses. Period._

* * *

**Arc ****Interlude: Konoha's Little Jinchuuriki**

A little boy is sitting on a swing. His deep blue eyes stared mournfully at the crowd of people in front of him. There was a darkness in those eyes, a sort of bottomless loneliness, resentment and longing. The little blonde-haired boy was utterly alone.

That is until a woman with fiery red hair walked up to him, a ready smile on her face and mischief dancing in her eyes. She put her hand on his shoulder, The boy jumped in the swing and turned to look.

'Hey Naruto,' the woman said with a warm smile.

'Nee-san!' Naruto cheered, leapt up and tackled her in a hug.

* * *

It had all started when Konoha decided to visit her little jinchuuriki in the orphanage.

While the Kyuubi's rampage had _hurt _in a way she hadn't felt in a while, Konoha harboured no resentment towards Naruto. What had happened that night had nothing to do with him and she was actually thankful. He'd taken the burden of being a jinchuuriki, after all. She understood the sacrifice he'd made and would have to continue making his entire life.

Now if only everyone else understood that as well.

Konoha had no idea, at first. She was so busy, and her Hokage promised Naruto was fine in the orphanage. She had her suspicions, but she put them aside. Until one day, she had a lot of free time. The first free time she'd had in a while. And she decided to check up on her jinchuuriki.

Konoha manifested right inside the orphanage walls. She walked in, cloaking herself in shadow and silence. Locating her jinchuuriki was an easy matter as well. It was _what_ she found that horrified her. And made an unfortunate amount of sense.

Humans were never paragons of tolerance, but Konoha had faith in her own humans, _her _people. Surely, they wouldn't blame and abuse a little kid. Surely, her Hokage would not _lie _to her. Surely, _somebody_ would see sense. Surely.

_(In retrospect, that trait of hers was what made her siblings scoff and call her painfully naive and idealistic to a fault.)_

_(maybe Kiri had a point)_

What she'd found, was a little boy, alone and lonely and utterly miserable, with no idea what _love_ even _was. _

Konoha kept visiting, kept watching, until one day, she decided to strike up a conversation with her little jinchuuriki.

* * *

**_Flashback_**

_It was the middle of the day. The sun burned cheerily over the village. Most orphans were under strict supervision in the village orphanage. And yet, one in particular had sneaked out . It was not really all that hard, considering the fact that none of the adults working in the orphanage bothered much about Naruto beyond the absolute bare minimum required to keep him alive. _

_The red headed woman gritted her teeth. She had quietly, soundlessly followed, using both her skill-sets to make doubly sure they would be alone. It wouldn't do for the conversation she was about to have to be overheard after all. No, it had to be private. If Konoha was going to reveal sensitive information, like her own existence, she would damn well make sure there would be no leaks. No matter how much she hated having to use her skills on a child..._

_Putting that thought out of her mind, Konoha watched as Naruto walked into an alleyway. Taking her chance, she slipped after him. With a brief thought, she extended her Notice Me Not cloak (a name she and her siblings liked to use sometimes, for their skill) to Naruto as well. The boy jumped nearly a foot in the air as he suddenly registered a presence behind him. He whipped around, staring at her._

_'Hey lady!'_

_Konoha tilted her head._

_'Yes, Naruto?'_

_The boy blinked, nearly gaping in astonishment.(If Konoha had been asked to guess, she'd say it was out of surprise that she had actually bothered to use his name. It made her blood boil.) Then he shook his head, glaring up at her. The redhead smiled in amusement._

_'Why're you following me?!' he demanded._

_'Because I want to talk to you, of course.'_

_This time, Naruto really _did _gape._

_'Y-you do?' he asked in shock._

_The woman nodded, red hair swishing about her shoulders._

_'You know,' she mused aloud. 'You look an awful lot like your parents.'_

_Naruto gasped, eyes filling with a desperate hope._

_'You - you know who my parents are?' the boy squeaked out, breathless with wonder and excitement and disbelief._

_Konoha smiled, sharp and slow._

_'I know a lot of things, kid.'_

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

That had been the beginning, but certainly not the end. She'd invited Naruto to have ramen with her and he'd eagerly agreed. When she led them to Kushina's favourite ramen stand _(Kushina, fierce and bright, with hair as red as Konoha's own. although not one of hers, she'd welcomed the girl into her folds eagerly.), _he'd hesitated outside.

'What is it?' she asked, stifling her irritation. She knew all too well what the issue was.

''S just... the villagers chase me out all the time,' Naruto said, shrinking back.

'It's okay, these ones won't. Promise.'

Konoha held out her hand encouragingly. After a moment's hesitation, Naruto took it.


	6. Interlude Two: Suna's Pride

_ARC ONE: THE BLEEDING_ _MIST_

_Arc Summary:_ _Insanity is best described as refusing to conform to society's expectations._ _Sanity can best be described as a stubborn refusal to admit when something is wrong._

* * *

_ARC INTERLUDE: Suna's Blinding Pride _

_Interlude Summary: Suna is not as fierce as Konoha, not as stubborn as Iwa, not as smart and canny as Kumo, not as deadly as Kiri. She is the youngest among them, an imperfect, faulty, amalgam of all their best qualities. She knows this and she knows it well. That being said, out of all her siblings, she is perhaps the most arrogant. _

_or: _

_Suna knows she is prideful to a fault. It does not stop her from making a horrible mistake._

* * *

Suna is the youngest of her siblings. She is small and she is pretty, gemstone green eyes near-glowing, heart shaped face framed by hair the exact colour of the desert sands. It does not stop her from being far tougher than most shinobi could dream of being. Her lifetime stretches far beyond even them, beyond the hidden village that gave her her name. She is the living personification of her land, every grain of sand, every harsh wind. All that packed into one body. It gives her presence, presence that makes even the most arrogant human stand at attention. Suna has lived their paltry lifetimes twice over after all.

Still, there many things that are beyond her. Suna is the weakest of her siblings, an unfortunate, but true, fact. One that infuriates her, grinds at her slowly, day by day, month by month, year by year, decade by decade. It is not something she has the power to change by herself, much as it galled her to admit it. Suna kept her relationship with her sister amiable, out of necessity, keeping her resentment under lock and key. It was one thing Suna was always better at: Konoha couldn't keep feelings hidden if her life depended on it, and Iwa was much the same. _(Kumo, blank, emotionless, apathetic, the faint glimmers of humanity few and far between, Kiri, lovely and lying, blood-lust in his eyes, ice in his veins, hatred in his words) _Suna took pride in her skill at faking emotion.

Suna's pride was the one thing she had going for her. Was it really a surprise that it sent her spiralling down even farther?

* * *

When the bijuu was sealed in a baby not yet born and the ache eased from her body, Suna did not think much of it.

When the baby grew into a boy, hair like blood and eyes ringed with black, Suna did not notice.

When the boy wept from loneliness and pain and the constant, ever present, voice in his mind, Suna did not care.

* * *

It was night. Suna was ambling pointlessly around the streets, bored and restless. The stars were plentiful in the sky, the moon was full and the hour was late. The cold wind seeped into her flesh, chilling her from inside out. An odd, insistent pulling in her heart led her outside, to the the streets. Suna frowned. Whenever this happened, it was usually because there was something important she forgot. Biting her lip, she kept walking aimlessly.

It was then that she saw him. Her jinchuuriki. Gaara.

He was so small and so sad, a deep, dark sort of loneliness in his teal green eyes. For the first time in a quite a while, Suna's heart twisted with guilt. Keeping herself invisible to him, she continued to study the boy. He standing in the middle of the street, sand swirling all about him. An unhappy frown on his young face, Gaara seemed to be deep in thought. His blood red hair and fair skin shone in the moon's light, giving the child an eerie look.

Before she could second guess herself, Suna stepped closer and let him see her.

* * *

For a long time after the strange encounter in the middle of the night, Gaara had wondered. He had seen the girl around before. Talking with his father, or the Council. The few times he had been allowed to interact with them, Kankurou and Temari had talked about seeing her around too. It was strange enough to keep him wondering for a long time, even after he had given up on love. That night was the one and only time he'd meet her until, years later, a boy with a blinding smile and eyes full of loneliness turned his life upside down.

When a girl had approached, Gaara stared at her warily. His interactions with the villagers were always... unpleasant. This one ought to be the same and yet... This girl evoked all kinds of strange feelings by mere presence alone. A desperate desire for acceptance, mixed with fierce hatred and resentment. It was bewildering to the not-yet six year old. Bewildering, yet intimately familiar at the same. As if he felt these very emotions many times before. And something told him he had.

'Hello Gaara.' the girl greeted.

'Who are you?' Gaara asked suspiciously.

The girl smiled, tilting her head to the side.

'I think you know already.'

Gaara frowned. She did feel incredibly familiar. It was as if he'd known her all her life. It was beyond strange. Gaara didn't know how to answer.

'Aren't you afraid of me?' he asked instead. 'Everyone is. They all stare and whisper.'

A strange expression settled on the not-girl's face.

'I'm not afraid of you.' she answered simply. 'I have no reason to be.'

'But _why_?!' he demanded, sand lashing out all around him.

'Why what?'

Gaara himself did not know what he was asking. Why wasn't she scared of him, when everyone else was? Why was she talking to him? Why did he feel like he knew her? Why, why, why?

He could feel the girl's sharp eyes examining him, looking for something. He did not know if she found it, whatever it was. He did not find out who she was, or why she approached him, because a moment later, she was gone. As if she were never even there.

* * *

For awhile after the encounter with Gaara, Suna debated whether or not it was worth it to go to her older sister for help. The boy's seal was obviously faulty. She'd seen it before, and she only needed one look at Gaara now to know. The problem was, the only person she knew who could fix it was her sister. Konoha was good friends with Uzushio before he died _(was killed)_ after all and she had taken in Kushina Uzumaki. If anyone could do it, it was definitely her. But..

Suna's teeth gritted. Her hands clenched and trembled, nails dug into skin, leaving deep gouges.

The thought of running to her big sister for help smarted. Oh, Konoha would do it, she was soft-hearted that way, but the humiliation of having to ask for Konoha's help wouldn't fade for a long time. No, she would handle it herself. After all...

... what could possibly go wrong?


End file.
